A 17-year-old from Deltona has been charged with aggravated animal cruelty following an incident caught on neighborhood security camera.
Officers arrested the teenager on a felony charge Monday after Deltona Animal Control informed them of the case after receiving video from a concerned resident.
The video, time stamped from the evening of March 14, showed the defendant entering a neighbour’s yard on Covington Drive to retrieve his dog after he ran away.
He grabbed the dog by the collar and carried it home, where he lifted it into the air and threw it to the ground. He straddled the dog, started punching him in the face and head again and again, then grabbed his head and knocked him to the ground several times.
The video was accompanied by audio, which recorded the dog howling during the abuse. Deltona Animal Control took custody of the dog and took him to a local veterinary hospital for examination.
The defendant’s grandmother confirmed that she witnessed the incident and informed officers that she told her grandson to stop hurting the dog. She said she disciplined her grandson after the incident.
The youth was taken into custody and transported to the Family Resource Center for processing of his felony charge. After treatment, the Ministry of Juvenile Justice returned him to the custody of his grandmother.